Titanium Alchemist Revised
by Nolies
Summary: Basically, this is the anime with an extra character. Will this lead to another outcome on the series? Maybe, or maybe not. -UP FOR ADOPTION-
1. To challenge the sun

**SUPER** **DISCLAIMER: **I own absolutely nothing expect my own Josh Evans. If I would own anything else the series would be a disaster...

**A/N:** Mush, after some serious thinking, I decided that I'd do a facelift to the existing chapters of Titanium Alchemist and then continue where it left off, hopefully I'll finish it this time. But, be lucky that I still have the plot somewhat registered in my brain. If you don't hear from me in a month, be sure to spam my email, that'll provoke me to continue writing, and I'm serious. Really. The facelifted chapters might not be so different from the originals, because there's just some minor alterations and more detail added.

With that said, enjoy. :)

**Chapter 1:** To challenge the sun.

* * *

Rain started to fall down the sky in Resembool. Two boys were busy drawing a transmutation circle which would bring their mother back. 

"That oughta do it", the older of the two boys said, "You ready?"

The younger one nodded. They placed their hands on the circle and started the transmutation. Golden light illuminated the room and wind started to rise. There was a grin on the older boys face.

_"Alchemy, the science of understanding the structure of matter, breaking it down, then reconstructing it in something else. It can even make gold from lead. But alchemy is a science, so it must follow the natural laws. To create, something of equal value must be lost. This is the principle of equivalent exchange."_

The light turned purple and the older brother looked over his shoulder, confused. This wasn't supposed to happen, not at all.

_"But on that night, I learned that value of somethings can't be measured on a simple scale."_

"YEAAAHHHHHHH!"

**On the other side of gate:**

A boy was sitting in a car, heading to New York. His hair was brown, and it reached his ears and covered his right eye, and his eyes, they were certainly unique. They were green, and gave his real emotion in every situation. He could smile, but his eyes could show hate, or anger. Well, your eyes are the windows of your soul, they say. His father, a quite rich businessman, had received a work offer from a big company in there, and he was late already, so he was speeding, a lot. He spoke with his son at the same time.

"Well son, your last biology test in your former school sure went nicely. You got full points from that last question, the one regarding DNA. I think you really should consider biology as a job, you know the world is short on bio-engineers", he conversed. The boy just nodded and smiled a bit, but then frowned.

"Dad, slow it down will you? We can't do anything about traffic jams can we? I mean, they won't be mad at you or throw you away just because you took the wrong turn and ended behind a ton of cars" the boy reasoned. He didn't like when his father drove this fast, sure he liked the speed, but when you're talking about speeding on a very busy highway, it's another story completely.

His father just mumbled something as an answer. Suddenly, the car bumped up and his father lost control of the vehicle. The tire had hit something on the road. How that something had got there, it was unknown, but surely fate had something to do with it. Yeah, as if such a thing even existed. The car swung from side to side, and was heading towards a concrete post on the side of the road.

"Dad! Watch out-", the boy yelled, but too late. He closed his eyes, bracing for the impact. Those concrete posts aren't so fragile as they seem.

The car hit the post, jumping in the air and landing in the middle of the highway. Several other cars tried to avoid it and that caused total havoc on the road. On top of that, a heavy truck hit the car, sending it flying several meters to the side.

"-The post.." the boys voice died down, as he looked up at a huge brown gate. Something was written on top of the doors, but he couldn't understand it. He was quite baffled, was _this_ supposed to be heaven? It had to be a sick joke, it just had to be. Or was it hell? Nope, couldn't be, there was no fire and no demons.

_'Just where exactly am I?'_ he questioned himself when he looked around.

Nothing, just white void. He looked back at the gate, which opened its creaky doors, revealing purple eyes inside a black void. In the top, there was one big eye, staring at him. The boy looked at the eyes mouth open.

"W-what..i-i-is th-this?" he whispered. Okay, he was officially horrified. The gate was something in itself, but that was just outright scary. This just HAD to be a sick joke placed upon him by God.

Then, black hands shot out from the void and grabbed him. He tried to struggle, but it was no use. He was dragged inside the gate, which closed its doors which a large clunk.

The boy was heading through a golden tunnel, and information of everything was forced into his head. Dates, events, technological discoveries and.._alchemy_? He closed his eyes, trying to cover himself from the images, but they just kept coming at him.

Then, it ended. Just as he felt solid ground under his feet. His sight was hazy, but he saw that it was raining. _'Hell, it wasn't raining in New York..this is weird'_, he mused as he felt something out of place. He tried to grab his left arm, but only felt air. Panic stirred in him and he didn't dare to look down. Slowly he moved his right arm upwards until he came to a stop at his shoulder. There was only a small stump remaining of his arm.

"What is this?" he whispered in shock.

"Payment, for your passage to the other side", he heard a booming voice said. He looked around but saw nothing that could make such a sound.

"You can't see me, I exist inside you, I exist inside every human. It was my doing that you are here now, but it took your arm and memories of you in the head of those you knew. You should be thankful that you are alive", the voice said.

The boys staggered a bit, from the realization that he wasn't in New York anymore. He was somewhere else, probably where no other people lived. But his fears were shortlived.

"That was Edward!" He heard a girl shout. He gasped and searched for the source and found it. A house on top of a hill. He made a run for it, hoping to find shelter there from the rain and to get his arm treated properly.

* * *

_"My brother and I knew the laws of science, of equivalent exchange. The gain required sacrifice. That something had to be taken from us, but we thought that there was nothing more we could lose... We were wrong."_

Smoke was everywhere. Something was hissing. Edward gasped and looked around for his brother. How could it go wrong like this? How? How was it possible, their calculations were perfect. Nothing should've gone wrong.

"Al! Alphonse, there's something... Oh no! Stay with me!" Ed shouted, "Dammit! This wasn't supposed to- gahh!" He held his stump of an leg, blood pouring off it.

"What have I done?" he whispered, "WHAT HAVE I DONE?!" He looked up to the smoke and saw a hand in the center of it. "Mom...?" he whispered.

The smoke cleared somewhat, and he saw their creation. Not a human at all. It gasped for air and looked at Ed with its empty purple eyes, if they could have even be called eyes. A monster was a more appropiate name for the creature. Edward yelled for the second time that night.

* * *

There was sand everywhere. Sand to the north, south, west and east. And not a single pool of water in sight. A perfect place to dehydrate and die away of exhaustion. 

"I'm starving and I'm thirsty. If there would be some grass, I could at least turn it into bread ", Edward said. A boy of his age stopped beside him, looking around. He was dressed a bit more casually, wearing a more lightweight coat and pants. He had gloves on his hands, fingerless on his right and a normal one on his left. His hair was damp and messed up, and his eyes looked bored, as always.

"Ehm, where'd Al go?" he asked. Ed also looked around and noticed that Al was indeed missing.

"Al! Where are you?" he shouted. A hand rose from the sand and grabbed Ed's ankle. He jumped into the air.

"GAHHH! Al, why do you have to scare me like that? And why'd you get burrowed again?" he bellowed at the hand.

"It's not my fault that I'm big and heavy", Al said from under the sand. After fifteen minutes of digging, Al was finally free.

"I don't understand why do you keep sinking in! It's not normal!" Ed exclaimed, puffing. Al shrugged, and looked down at him.

"Like I told you, it's not my fault that I'm big and heavy. And besides, I get even heavier when I'm full", he retorted, pointing at his chest. Ed stood up, snarling.

"Full of what?" he shouted when he kicked Al's chest plate. It dropped and sand burrowed Ed. Al laughed and side-stepped away from Ed. He on the other hand burst out from the sand pile and started chasing Al.

"Get back here! I want to show you something!" Ed shouted. Al snickered and kept running. The third one just shook his head and sighed heavily, murmuring 'If this keeps on, I have to start bashing Ed to keep him in line.'

"What do you want to show me brother?" he shouted back.

"Stop so I can show you!" Ed answered.

"Ed, just stop it already, you're going to dehydrate yourself before we even get close to Lior", the boy said. Ed stopped and sat on the sand, panting.

"Ah, I guess you're right Josh", Ed said getting up, "But you sink one more time and I'll make sure that you'll never get up from the sand again!" he exclaimed pointing at Al.

The trio were finally in Lior and Ed was so thirsty he couldn't see properly anymore. Josh chuckled.

"I told you, you'd dehydrate before we even get her- wait.. Is that-", Josh said when Ed suddenly ran forward to a cross section. His eyes lit up and his facial expression changed to one of joy and he jumped up high into the air.

"Look guys! Water!" he yelled when he started running towards the fountain, laughing manically.

"WATERWATERWATERWAT-", he stopped when he saw what color the water was. Josh and Al stopped beside him.

"Is that..blood?" Al asked. Josh shook his head and took some of the red liquid in a cup.

"It's more like...blood red wine", he said. Then he felt someone lift him up to the air from his coat's collar.

"Hey, this is off limits for kids!" the old man said.

* * *

The man laughed at his mistake. "So you're out of town. I'm sorry, it was a misunderstanding." 

Ed sucked his orange juice with pleasure, finally getting the dehydration away. Josh took a sip from his juice and looked at the bartender.

"If the fountains here are pouring wine, this place must be loaded with rich people then", he said, taking another sip of his juice.

"Yeah, we do all right here, but it's not because we're that rich. It's because of Father Cornello. This towns savior", the man answered, then he looked like he remembered something.

He reached for a switch and clicked it. "Time for a little soul food", he said.

Ed and Josh looked around and saw that everyone was listening to the radio. They listened as some man blabbered about god on the radio and everyone seemed to be listening. Josh sighed and looked at the man who was very concentrated in listening the program.

"Well, that's freakish", Ed finally said. Josh nodded.

"Some kind of religious broadcast", Al said.

The bartender looked at each one of them and put his hands on his hips.

"That guy's in a suit of armor and you're wearing gloves in the middle of the desert and you call us freaks", the man said pointing out to Al and Ed, "Well, at least you look normal. Are you sure you know these two?" Now he was pointing out to Josh.

He just looked back at the man and was about to raise his left sleeve, but Ed took his arm and shook his head. The bartender didn't notice this.

"Well, what's your deal anyway? Are you street performers?" the bartender said.

Ed almost fell of the chair, Josh on the other hand did. Al just kept looking at the man. Josh got up almost inhumanly quick and glared at the bartender.

"I don't think so pops! Do we look like clowns to you?" he half-shouted. His eyes bore holes into the man in front of him. Ohhh, how he hated people like him. He hated the circus, from that point on when he first visited one. It was just disastrous.

"Well, you must have some reason to be here", the bartender retorted..

Ed sighed and drank the rest of the orange juice. "We're looking for something. But tell me, who's this Father Cornello guy anyway?"

"WHAT? You're kidding me right? You haven't heard of the great prophet Cornello?" the man yelled, looking at Al, Josh and Ed one at a time. Each one of them gave a puzzled look.

"What's so great about him then?" Josh asked. They were quickly surrounded by men blabbering about Cornello.

Ed looked rather bored, so he got up. "Ehm, I just remembered, we have to be somewhere. Coming guys?"

Al stood up, his head hitting the ceiling of the bar and knocking the radio down to the ground, where it shattered.

"Now look what you did! How are you gonna pay that?!" the bartender cried.

"Don't worry, we'll fix it. Josh, would you do it?" Ed said.

Josh nodded and kneeled in front of the radio. He clapped his hands and placed them on the radio. Blue sparks erupted and explosion like sound emitted along with a cloud of smoke. There, on the ground, the radio stood as good as new.

"Whaa?! How'd you do that?!" the bartender yelled in astonishment.

Josh picked up the radio and placed it on the counter. "We're alchemists. Fixing something like that's a piece of cake."

"I don't want to brag or anything, but we're the Elric brothers, me and that guy in the armor.

This here's Josh Evans, our friend", Ed said.

They heard the crowd say something about alchemists and that how rare they are in this town. One even offered them a job if they needed one.

"They don't need to work. This here's Edward Elric, the Fullmetal Alchemist. And his friend, Josh Evans, the Titanium Alchemist. They're pretty well known in Amestris. They say that those two are real child prodigy's", a hooded woman said, looking at Ed, who just snickered.

But to Ed's disappointment, the crowd mistook Al as Edward. There were people around Josh too, who looked rather pleased with the attention. Ed made a face.

"B-but I'm not the Fullmetal Alchemist, he is", Al said pointing to Ed.

"That shorty there?" someone from the crowd said.

A vein popped on Ed's forehead. He leaped towards the man and swung him in the air.

"I'M NOT SHORT! CAN A SHORT PERSON DO THIS?! HUH? I'M STILL GROWING YOU FREAKISH MUTANTS!" he yelled in rage, throwing people here and there and occasionally punching someone in the stomach or kicking him in the side.

"Well, I see it's a bit lively here today", a woman with otherwise brown, but in the front pink, hair said, smiling.

Ed stopped in an instant and looked at the woman. Josh was still holding him back, but he too looked at this woman. Al was in front of Ed, keeping him from seeing the man who had insulted him.

The woman laughed. "Oh, don't let me spoil your fun."

"Done your shopping for the offering Rose?" the bartender asked. Rose nodded. "Well, why don't you take those three with you? They said that they're looking for something. Maybe Father Cornello knows something about whatever they're looking."

"No, it's-", Al started when Josh jumped in front of him.

"Yes. I think that's a great idea, right Ed?" Josh said. Ed nodded. Al was confused.

"Well, come on then. Oh, I believe I didn't catch your names", Rose said.

"I'm Josh Evans, the Titanium Alchemist", Josh informed proudly.

"I'm Edward Elric, the Fullmetal Alchemist", Ed said, he being proud as well.

Al bowed. "I'm Alphonse Elric, the watcher of these two", he said. Rose felt that Al was snickering, though she couldn't see his face.

Ed was the first to react. "WHAT? YOU'RE NOT OUR WATCHER! YOU'RE YOUNGER THAN US!"

Al started laughing. "It's true brother, you two are just so bad news when you're together somewhere."

"WHAT'S THAT SUPPOSED TO MEAN?!" Josh yelled.

Al just kept laughing. Rose smiled. "Well, Ed, you have a pretty fierce personality for such a small person."

"RAAAAAAAAHHHHHHH! WHAT IS WITH YOU PEOPLE?! I'M NOT SHORT! YOU'RE JUST SOME FREAK MUTANTS!" Ed yelled and went after Rose. "COME BACK HERE!"

Josh and Al laughed and ran after the two.

* * *

**A/N:** Nhehe, you can never guess what I put in there as a little cameo appearance. If you've watched that series you know what I'm talking about. Review and tell me if you think you got it right, well, even if you don't know the answer, review anyway. 

And don't tell me, this ends abruptly, I just noticed it. The original chapter was like this and I didn't remember to add the parts that were supposed to be in this chapter. Forgive me for this and I just don't know to adapt the second chapter if I would move those parts to this one. So this is much about the only way.


	2. Body of the Sanctioned

**A/N:** Mmm, I didn't see so much that had to be changed, so I just placed more detail to some of the scenes..BUT, there's one scene that has been revised completely, because I found it a bit unreal. The reactions of people and such, you know what I'm talking about..or not. AND, I changed Cray's position, he was actually a clerk, and not Rose's brother..damn my hearing. Well, you can't be perfect in english if you aren't born in a english speaking family. Who knows.

Anyway. Enjoy.

**Chapter 2: Body of the Sanctioned**

* * *

"So open thy heart, that the sun god may shine on you", a man said, clicking a button on a receiver. He closed his book and looked at the men in his room, smiling. 

"Well chosen words, your holiness Father Cornello", one of three men said, bowing at the same time.

"Yes, we would be lost without you Father", another one agreed.

The door opened and a woman stepped in. "Father Cornello?" Rose called. She stopped at the door, waiting for permission to come further.

"Ah, Rose", Cornello said and stood up, motioning her closer with his hands. Rose walked up to the table.

"Pardon me Cray, but may I put some travellers in the Pilgrims quarters?" Rose asked, looking at the clerk named Cray. The man nodded.

"Ah, always helping others Rose. Your good deeds are surely being seen by the sun God Leto", Cornello said, walking up to her.

"Yes, well, that's what you teach us Father, and I follow your teaching, or at least try to.." her voice trailed off.

Cornello smiled and put his hands on Rose's shoulders, who started at this. "Don't worry Rose, your wish will be granted, but you must be patient, we need a little more time to grant it to you."

Rose looked down. "Yes..." she whispered with a sad voice.

* * *

Ed sat by the window in the Pilgrims quarters, looking at Rose. She was standing in front of a grave. 

"I wonder whose grave that is", Josh said, looking at her as well. Al walked up to the two and kneeled in front of the window.

"I spoke to Rose about that, that grave belongs to her boyfriend. I think his name was Kain", Al explained. Josh nodded. Al continued: "He was all she had. She doesn't have parents, they died when she was little. But she's convinced that Cornello can bring Kain back."

Josh jumped up and faced Al. "That's absurd! How's he going to do that? With alchemy? Look what happened to you two!" he ranted and sat back down grumbling something about stupid baldies who don't know anything about anything.

"Well, maybe he can. Just think about it, maybe there's some higher power that science cannot explain. Maybe Cornello is a real prophet, sent by a god. You can never know", Al answered.

"Well, don't count on it just yet", Ed said in a voice that told that the conversation was over. He took a glance at Rose to notice that Cornello and some other man were with her. The man in question was looking directly at them. Ed got a bit puzzled by that.

* * *

Cornello held up a glass of water, then touched it with his left hand. A red light flashed and the water turned into wine. The crowd that was gathered around to see Cornello's miracles were fascinated. Then he put his left hand on a wooden block and it turned into a stone statue with a red flash. 

"Well, what do you think?" Ed asked, standing on top of his suitcase. Josh couldn't help but chuckle quietly at this sight.

"Erm, eh.. Well, that flash of light is a dead giveaway, he's using alchemy. But he's completely ignoring the laws. That doesn't make sense", Josh said, holding back his laughter.

"Hey guys! How are you liking your first miracle gathering? Isn't he just amazing?" Rose said, walking up to them. Josh couldn't hold up his laugh anymore and he burst into it, kneeling down. Ed looked rather furious at this.

"Are you implying that I'm short when I'm standing on top of my suitcase?!" he shouted. Josh stood up, trying to hold back the laughter. He waved his hand and shook his head.

"No, it's just that...Mmph, erm. Right. On to the point. Rose, he's a great actor, we can say that. But he isn't performing miracles, he's just swindling you. That's pure alchemy what he's using, although... It seems that he doesn't follow the laws at all", Josh explained, looking at Cornello with a face of confusement.

Rose looked very confused. "What laws?" she asked. She was puzzled by this. What laws were there to performing miracles with a power granted by God?

Ed sighed. "Well, you see, in alchemy, there's one principle that must be followed. The principle of equivalent exchange. That old coot is completely ignoring it!"

"Eh, what? Equivalent exchange? Sorry guys, I'm a bit confused here. Well, 'a bit' is a understatement", Rose said. Now that alchemy was introduced into the soup, she got even more puzzled. What had alchemy to do with miracles?

"Well, to put it simply, the output has to equal the mass that what you started with. The base material has to be the same too. That is the law of Equivalent Exchange. You can't gain without sacrifice", Al explained.

"Like the radio I fixed, I couldn't turn it into a statue like Cornello did to that wooden trunk. I couldn't also change the cover into metal, as the base material was wood", Josh pointed out, "Like Al said, to obtain, something of equal value must be lost. But that old coot of an swindler is totally disregarding the whole goddamn law!"

Rose looked rather irritated with the whole situation and she decided to point out the obvious to the trio, who were completely oblivious to the powers of Cornello.

"That's because he's working miracles!" she exclaimed.

By now, a little girl had brought a dead bird to Cornello, who smiled at her and touched the bird with his left hand. The same red flash of light erupted and the bird opened it's eye, which was now red. It took off and landed on Cornello's shoulder.

"Well can you do that with alchemy?! I bet you can't! It's true miracles.. It just has to be...", her voice trailed off.

Josh just gave a laugh. "We'll find out if it's true miracles or just alchemy." He really wanted to get to the bottom of this and expose Cornello to the people. If the didn't like something, it was liars.

* * *

"Edward Elric? Isn't he the Fullmetal Alchemist?" Cray asked. Cornello had called him to his office to speak about a very important issue at hand. '_It probably meant this'_, he concluded. 

"Yes Cray. It's been said that he was certificated as a State Alchemist when he has twelve years old, along with his friend, Josh Evans. They call him the Titanium Alchemist, due to his knowledge of the metal. Some rumors say that it was him who brought the metal into the public", Cornello explained.

"Are you sure that they are them Father? I mean, if Elric's the one in the red coat, then he's rather short, and young", Cray pointed out.

Cornello slammed his fists on the table. "Age and size has nothing to do with talent! I'm sure that the military they represent has heard about our paradise, and have sent these two to interfere. The sun God wants the intruders dead. Go, and carry out the will of God Cray."

Cray nodded. "I will do so, Father." After saying that, he left the room to deal with the issue.

"Those boys' presence troubles me. I don't like it at all", a womans voice said from the shadows.

Cornello smirked. "Don't worry, even if Cray should fail, there is one other way."

* * *

In the church, Rose was polishing the altar. Ed and Josh quietly walked up to the front row and sat down. 

"So, if you pray and polish the altar well enough, your wish will be granted and someone who's dead will live again?" Ed asked. Rose started a bit, and her hands shook with anger.But still, she turned around and put a fake smile on her face.

"Something like that", she answered in a over friendly voice. Josh raised a eyebrow at this.

_'Well that's unique',_ he mused.

Ed sighed and reached for a notebook from his coat. He flipped it open and began to read: "Water 35 liters, carbon 25 kilograms, ammonia 4 liters, lime 1.5 kilograms, phosphorus 800 grams, salt 250 grams, saltpeter 100 grams, sulfur 80 grams, fluorine 7.5 grams, iron 5 grams, silicon 3 grams, and a trace amount of 15 other elements…" He closed the book, and was about to say something but Josh interfered.

"And, you need DNA, for the basic sctructure of the body. Without it, the person won't gain his or her appearance. But it's something that this day's science hasn't even started to think about", he said.

Ed frowned. "I forgot about that", he said.

Rose looked confused. "What're those ingredients for? And furthermore, what's this DNA you're talking about?" she asked. Josh almost fell of the bench when he heard the last bit, but he restrained himself from doing that. But that didn't stop him from sweatdropping quite heavily. Of course, Rose was oblivious to this.

Ed sighed. "Those, along with DNA, would be the calculated components that make up an adult human, down to the last cell", he answered, "But still, it's tricky and dangerous. I bet that even with the discovery of DNA, it would be impossible to bring a human back to life."

"So, what makes you think that that old coot of an priest with his neat magic tricks can bring someone back to life? Oh, and in case you're wondering, DNA is free. It's everywhere in your body, in your hair, on your skin, under your fingernails et cetera et cetera. I could actually go on forever, but we don't have time for that. And the rest can be bought with a child's allowance." Josh concluded.

Rose's look changed from confusion to anger. "Well if there's no higher power to it, why don't you bring someone back to life!" she shouted. Ed stood up and walked up to her. Josh moved to the front and took a more relaxed position on the bench.

"All in time Rose, science will find the answer to it. Then, you don't have to worry about dying. You can live as long as you want", he said, looking up at the sun god Leto, "If I were you, I'd pick up a alchemy book and start studying. It's funny, we're the closest to god himself and still, we can't create a human. It's ironic." He heard Josh chuckle at that and he smiled a bit. Rose was this and she almost boiled with anger.

"You're not a god, you're nothing close to it", Rose said, irritated.

"And neither is the sun, it's just a huge ball of hydrogen, which is eventually going to kill us all", Josh said from the bench rolling his eyes, like it was the most obvious thing in the world.

"That's right, get too close to it, and you'll just get burned", Ed finished. He turned around to go sit down on the bench but a loud noise stopped him and he turned his head to the source of the noise. He saw a helmet roll out from the doorway in the side. Josh jumped upright and rolled behind the first row.

**Seconds earlier:**

From a side door, Al was looking to the altar and watching Josh and Ed. "Great guys, now you've totally screwed it up." Then he heard a gun being cocked. He slowly stood up.

"Don't worry boy, your friends will join you soon", Cray said, pulling the trigger.

BAM!

Al's head rolled out from doorway and he collapsed to the floor. Cray stepped over him and walked to the hall.

"Cray! What is this? Why did you shoot him?" Rose shouted, looking at Al. She was confused by this. Why did he shoot him, when he had done nothing wrong?

"These three are enemies of god. They have been sent here to claim our paradise as their own. It is the will of God to kill them", Cray said, pointing the gun to Ed. Josh, who had leaped behind the first row was sneaking his way behind Cray.

"I don't think so", Al said in an irritated tone as he got up from the floor. Cray turned around and looked at Al, who had no head.

"W-what is this?" he stammered. He took a few steps backwards, pointing the gun towards Al. Josh saw his opportunity coming and jumped from behind the bench and took the gun from Cray's hand. He turned to run away, but he was knocked down by Ed's right fist. Josh picked up Al's head and tossed it at him, who caught it easily.

"W-what is this?! H-he doesn't have a head!" Rose yelled in shock. Al bowed a bit so Rose could see inside his armor.

"Don't be scared Rose. This is me, I'm like this", Al said, trying to calm her down.

Rose looked at the empty suit of armor with fear. "B-but, you-you're not there..", she stammered.

Al put his head back. "It's true, I don't have a body. But I wasn't born like this. Rose, me and my brother made a mistake, and we're paying for it."

"That's right Rose. That's the penalty of stepping into holy ground, where mortals aren't allowed to go", Ed said, sadly.

Rose was too frightened to try to understand, she just backed up and ran away, yelling.

"Rose! ROSE!" Josh shouted, "Well, so much for trying to make her understand I guess", he said and gave a laugh.

"Not quite, I have a plan in mind. But we have to find her first", Ed said.

_'Cray was right, they are evil! What have I done, I doubted you Father. Please forgive me'_, Rose thought when she ran down the stairs.

* * *

"Damn, it's dark here", Josh said, stirring his eyes. Ed walked farther in. They saw Rose standing on a balcony in the back. 

"Rose!" Ed shouted and saw Cornello come down the stairs. "What's that third-rate doing here?"

"This was your test Rose, you prevailed the darkness. They tried to make you doubt me, but you stayed loyal, and so, your miracle shall be granted", Cornello said to Rose, whose face lit up. He obviously ignored Ed's comment, because he didn't react in any way.

"Don't listen to him Rose! He's lying!" Ed shouted walking towards them. Josh and Al followed behind him.

"Thank you for bringing them here Rose", he said, then turned to face the trio. "Two State Alchemists. Interesting, you must have a reason to come here. And I can tell you, you won't be able to conquer our paradise that easily."

"Don't jump into conclusions just yet! We want the stone, give it to us!" Ed shouted, raising his hand and waiting for Cornello to throw it to him.

"You mean this stone?" Cornello said and raised his left hand, where the stone was, serving as a jewel in a ring,

"I knew it! An alchemist using alchemy without a transmutation circle is a sure fire sign of something greater involved, AND, foremost, you ignored the principle of Equivalent Exchange completely! So from that point we knew that it could only mean one thing!" Ed said.

"Yes, the Philosopher's Stone, the mystical power amplifier. I can do anything with this gem!" Cornello answered.

"Finally, and we really thought that it'd be hard to find it." Josh whispered and walked beside Ed. "Give it to us peacefully and we won't tell the people that you're a fraud!"

"What was that? Think about it, I restored their town and gave happiness and guidance to them when they were lost. Now what would happen if my miracles would suddenly stop? I believe no one wants that", Cornello said, laughing, "Now do they Rose?"

"Don't listen to him Rose! He's just a third-rate old swindler coot! He's tricking you in-" Josh shouted but was cut off by Cornello.

"Nonsense! Would a third-rate old swindler coot restore life into a dying god forsaken town in the middle of the desert? I think not. When I arrived at this town, it was full of strife. I restored peace and them everything they needed. I even gave them money, and built buildings for them. I became their prophet, so why would be military want to destroy something like this?" Cornello concluded his speech.

Ed looked rather bored and Josh was yawning. "Nope, don't care about the military. We're here for US" Josh said.

Cornello looked dumbfounded. "What was that?" He couldn't believe his ears, did that boy really say they were there for THEM?

"That's right! We're here because we need that stone for us! We need it to make something right again!" Ed shouted, very irritated.

"SO THAT'S IT"! Rose shouted, "This is all about you! That what you want! But what about us then? What do we want! You don't care!"

"But Rose w-" Al started but Ed cut him off. "It's no use Al, she won't listen anymore", he said quietly.

"Enough arguing! If you want this stone, you'll have to take it from me!" Cornello shouted as he activated the stone. Sand poured into the hall and Al sunk again.

"AL! I TOLD YOU NOT TO SINK AGAIN!" Ed shouted when he jumped back. Josh slapped him in the head with his left arm.

"OW! Did you have to use your left arm?!" He yelled. Josh shrugged but didn't say anything.

"Hahhahah, armors are at disadvantage in soft sand and you can't draw transmutation circles in it either", Cornello said. Josh and Ed grinned.

"Let me introduce you to one of my creations", he said while he pressed a button in the wall. "Is this the first time you've seen a chimera?"

"You bastard! You've combined animals! That's just absolutely disgraceful!" Ed shouted at Cornello. The chimera came closer.

"Maybe so, but it's very effective!" Cornello answered. Ed looked at Josh, who clapped his hands and placed them on the sand. Ed backed up to help Al out of the sand.

"This might be a bit hard without a weapon", Josh said when the blue glow erupted and something started to from out of the sand. He pulled out a spear and took a fightning stance.

"WHAAT?! You transmuted without a circle!" Cornello shouted in confusion. Josh just grinned and stabbed the chimera in the chest as it leaped at him. He threw it to the side and almost hit Ed, who was helping Al out from the sand.

"Sorry 'bout that!" Josh apologized when Ed gave him a glare.

Cornello grabbed the bird from his shoulder and sent it towards Josh. He activated the stone again and the bird grew tens of times the size it was.

Josh took fightning stance again and thrust the spear against the bird when it came to striking distance, but he missed and the bird snapped the spear in half. Then it took Josh by his left arm and tried to break it too, ripping the sleeve off.

"Sorry birdie, but that's the wrong arm", he said as it broke it's claws. He punched the bird with his left arm, what sent it flying towards Ed, who had gotten Al out of the sand. Ed kicked the bird with his left foot and the bird fell to the ground, dead.

They heard Rose gasp. Josh turned to look at her and he saw her looking at his left arm. He pulled down his coat so the arm would be hidden.

"Now I understand your name. The Titanium Alchemist! Your mechanical limb must be made out of titanium, I presume. That is why your movements are so swift with that arm!" Cornello said.

They heard a growl. The other chimera charged at Ed, who blocked it with his right arm. Everyone heard a crunch, but only three of them knew what the chimera had bitten.

Rose gasped and fell to her knees. Cornello laughed but stopped when he noticed that Ed wasn't in pain.

"What's the matter kitty? Can't get a good taste?" Ed growled. He lifted the chimera into the air and pulled his arm away quickly. Then he used his left foot to kick the chimera, sending it flying. It fell to the floor with a large thump.

"What? That's impossible! You should be dead by now! Unless... Your limbs, they must be fake too!" Cornello shouted.

"Oh, you're such a genius", Ed said, ripping his right sleeve off. Rose started to back away.

"You have to look Rose! This is what happens when you try to bring a human back to life!" Ed shouted, his eyes burning with rage.

"Now I understand you, you stupid children crossed the line and tried something forbidden! Your bodies were taken to the other side", Cornello said.

"Not in my case", Josh pointed out, but Cornello ignored him in his boom of understanding.

"I told you Rose, it's not possible to bring a human back to life. This is the only thing you get from it. DO YOU HAVE THE COURAGE TO TRY?!" Ed shouted. Rose started, her mind still confused.

"You fools had to go and find out yourselves. Now I understand your name too, Elric!" Cornello said, "You're named after your metal limbs, And I must say, a quite fitting name." he chuckled and smiled evilly.

"Well, that does answer a couple of things, like a riddle. Why would the military give such stern names to young boys. Well, they are literal I see", Cornello laughed, "See Rose, there are two taboos in alchemy. One being the transmutation of gold from lead. That is a big taboo itself, but there is a greater one than that. Alchemy on humans. It's forbidden by man and even nature itself. You stepped on God's toes! You miserable boys."

Josh was getting quite furious right now. His hands were shaking in fury._'I have to succeed this time'_, he thought as he raised his fingers and poised them to a snap. Blue sparks erupted from his fingers.

"W-what is this? You're making a circle within your fingers?" Cornello stammered. Josh grinned and snapped. Blue bolts of lightning streamed towards Cornello at an incredibly fast speed. After a few seconds, the air around Josh's hand froze and stormed towards Cornello. He ducked at the last second and the blue 'flame' slammed into the wall, freezing it.

"What is this?! How can you do that?" he shouted.

"Easy. I just make a circle with my fingers. Then I just activate it by snapping my fingers", Josh answered, "I can't say that I'm a expert in understanding titanium, I'm more interested in alchemy anyway."

Cornello stood up and brushed his clothes. "Nevertheless, I still have this stone. Rose, they may have failed, but it was because they didn't have the talent to do it. Me, on the other hand, have talent and this stone."

"You're just third-rate baldy!" Josh shouted when he poised his fingers in snap again. Blue sparks erupted telling that the only thing needed was to snap anymore. "Give us the stone or I'll freeze you and break you into millions of pieces!"

Cornello laughed. Behind his back, he touched his cane with his left hand and transmuted it into a gatling gun. He pointed it towards the three and pulled the trigger. After the ammo belt was all gone, he grinned. But when the dust cleared, the grin changed into a confused face.

"That was just tooooo close", Ed said. Josh was puffing and quickly emerged from behind the stone barrier. He snapped his fingers, sending the flames towards Cornello again. But he was ready and activated the stone, destroying the wave of freezing air.

"Damn that man!" Josh muttered under his breath, when the doors opened. It was Cray along with other Cornello's followers.

"YOU!" Cray shouted and pulled out his gun. Al and Ed quickly ran away from the shower of bullets. Josh ran towards a dead end. He motioned Ed towards him and pointed into the wall.

"You can't get out that way! It's a dead end!" Cornello shouted. Josh grinned. Ed ran past Josh, clapping his hands and placing them on the wall.

"Like I always say, if there's no door, make one!" he shouted when a large door appeared in front of them. The trio pushed it open and ran away from Cornello and his followers.

"Is it true Father? That your miracles are only alchemy?" Rose asked quietly, understanding finally descending into her mind.

"If my miracles can be explained with something, it still doesn't mean that they aren't the will of god", Cornello answered, smiling. "Let me show you." He turned around and walked away, Rose following him. After a set of stairs, they arrived at a door. Cornello unlocked it and Rose stepped inside.

It was a bedroom, which only furniture was the large bed, covered with almost see-through curtains. She stepped forward, when she saw a figure rise from the bed.

"Ro..se?" The voice whispered. "Ro..se?"

"Kain.." Rose whispered with joy as she stepped closer to the bed. Cornello grabbed her shoulder, pulling her back gently.

"The sun god Leto has granted you your wish. But you must be patient Rose, his body isn't still complete. Give it a few more days." Rose nodded and she saw feathers on the floor. This made her confused.

* * *

"Aw man, how are we supposed to get the stone now?" Josh said, kicking a statue with his iron tip boots. Ed shrugged. 

"I don't understand that baldy, we would've given the stone back when we would be finished. I don't give a hell about his plans for that matter", Ed muttered.

There was a screeching noise when the loudspeakers everywhere around the city were put on.

"What's this now?" Al asked. Josh shrugged and stopped kicking the statue, which was on the point of breaking down.

"People of Lior", the voice said, "tonight three unbelievers tried to take the life of our prophet Cornello. One of them is wearing armor, one is in a black coat, which has a picture of a lion with a fish tail on the left breast. The leader of them wears a red coat and he is short."

A stress mark appeared on Ed's forehead. "I'm. Not. SHORT!" Josh snickered quietly again. "I'm gonna kill that bastard. But first, we're going to expose him to the people", Ed said, grinning manically.

"...Please, take all necessary precautions." the voice concluded.

* * *

Ed looked bored. "Now why were you here again?" he asked. 

"You attacked Cornello!" someone from the crowd shouted. And in an instant, the whole crowd burst into agreement.

"Sheesh, talk about one minded people", he mumbled. The crowd didn't seem to notice that Josh was missing, and Al wasn't moving at all.

"Are you sure it's them?" someone asked. And again, the crowd showed that they all agreed. Ed was quite sure that that noise could be heard in Central, which was quite far away from Lior. But then he catched someone saying 'shorty'. This had an instant reaction on the alchemist.

"WHO ARE YOU CALLING SHORT?! YOU PEOPLE ARE JUST SOME SICK DESERT MUTANTS WHO ARE FREAKISHLY TALL!" he ranted. The crowd went silent, until someone quietly implied that no one said such thing.

And again, it was like a thunderstorm that calmed for a minute then came back twice as worse.

"All right, I'm getting tired at your booming. Look, Cornello's fake, he's using alchemy", Ed tried.

"You're a liar! I saw Kain. He was resurrected", Rose said, and the crowd backed up so Rose could come through.

"You see? And he's not the first to come back. There have been many others too", some woman said from the crowd. But this time, there were no booming agreement, some were just nodding.

"Has someone actually seen these people? From what I've heard, they left the town the instant they were 'resurrected'", Ed protested. He was growing very irritated at the whole mess.

They felt the ground shake. Ed looked to the right and saw statues moving. The crowd was astonished, although Ed was just confused. The statues encircled them and Ed saw Cray behind them. One of the statues thrust it's spear at 'Al' and tossed it to the side.

"Al!" Ed shouted, attempting to clap his hands together, but before he was able to do that, a statue knocked him unconscious. The last thing he saw, was the statues pounding Al. A grin grew on Ed's face.

* * *

Ed woke up in a cellar. He noticed that his watch was missing. He grinned again. "That old coot fell for it. Now I just nee-", he said when the cell door opened. Rose was standing there with a tray. She walked up to him. 

"Oh great, food! Are you here to feed me?" Ed asked as he opened his mouth. But Rose placed the tray in front of him and turned away.

"I just hope that you won't be disappointed Rose. I truly hope so", Ed said quietly. Rose stopped for a second but then walked out, closing the door.

"Aw man, this is going to be hard", he said as he pulled the tray closer with his feet. Then he heard something. Like a clap. Blue bolts of lightning pierced through the wall behind him. Ed grinned.

* * *

Rose went into Kain's bedroom again. She closed the door and walked closer to the bed. "Kain, I'm sorry. I know I'm not supposed to be here but.. I needed to talk." 

A figure rose up again. Rose's face lit up.

"Ro..se?" Kain said. Rose heard the door open and looked over her shoulder. Father Cornello was standing in the doorway.

"I-", Rose started but then the room was filled with a breeze. She looked back at Kain's bed and saw the figure.

"T-that's.. That's not.." she stammered. Cornello smirked.

"What's wrong Rose? I granted you your wish. But I'm afraid that even with the stone, I didn't dare trying to forge a human soul. So, I used the souls of those birds. They are pretty good in imitating human voice, don't you agree?" he said, raising his left hand. He activated the stone, and the beast jumped to the floor.

"Give the _real_ Kain my regards", Cornello said as he closed the door.

The beast kept saying her name, as Rose backed up to the door, holding her head with her hands. Suddenly, the beast lunged at her, and she closed her eyes, waiting for it to kill her. She heard a voice, what resembled a blade piercing through living tissue. She lifted her head and saw Josh standing in front of her.

The beast was on the floor, blood pouring off it's chest. "Well, I guess I don't need to tell you anymore that he's a fake ", Josh said, smiling. "Let's get out of here. We have a little surprise for that old baldy." They headed off to the roof of the church.

Al was preparing the loudspeaker they would use to expose Cornello, when Josh and Rose arrived.

"What are you going to do with those?" she asked. Josh shrugged. "You'll see."

"Josh, when Cornello accused Ed and Al of stepping into God's boundary and you said that it wasn't so in your case..what did you mean by that?" Rose asked, out of curiosity.

Josh sighed. "Well, it's a long story, but to cut it short, I'm not exactly born in this world. I...was put here, after a little accident in my world. Right now, it'd be the year 2007 where I come from. Our world is far more technologically advanced than yours, so that's why I mentioned DNA in the church", he said and he patted his automail with his right hand, "And that's why I was able to tell the difference between stone and titanium, which my automail is made of. Come on, try to lift it up, it's pretty light compared to other automail."

Rose took his arm. It was so cold, it felt so unreal. She lifted it, and noticed that the arm didn't weigh much. "Wow, you're right. This is light. But, it's still so..", she trailed off.

"Unreal?" Josh completed the sentence. She nodded. "I know, I can't feel anything with this arm. But it's good though, I can punch a wall as hard as I can. And if I wear a glove, no one will know it's there. It's great to brag with this", he laughed, holding the automail with his other hand.

_'He's so positive about his loss, he must have been a great person to know in his own world_', Rose thought as she watched Josh help Al in the preparations.

Blue light sparked and the setup was ready. "Right then, now we just press this button here", Josh said and clicked the switch to 'On' -mode.

"You think too small, I'm making believers who would gladly throw away their lives, if they were told that it is the will of god. And why not, they believe that I can resurrect them. So, they're not afraid to die. There is no greater army than that with a holy call. Say what you say", there was a sound of chains falling to the floor, "In a few years I will have a army to tear this country into pieces and rebuild it as I like!" Cornello's voice said.

"I-I don't understand", Rose said. Josh looked at her. "He's a fake, we told you."

Cornello spoke again. "But I wouldn't dare to resurrect a human, as even with the Philosopher's Stone I would still end up like you. And besides, why would a king risk his life for a mindless pawn?"

**In the cellar:**

Ed's face cracked in a grin as Cornello noticed that his hands were free.

"W-whaaat?!" Cornello shouted as Ed moved away, revealing the hole in the wall and the microphone.

"How long has that been on?!" he shouted again. Ed couldn't help but laugh.

"Long enough for the people to hear the _'mindless pawn'_ comment", he snickered. The last thing they heard was the sound of a gun. Cornello had destroyed the microphone with his cane machinegun. Suddenly, the barrels were cut in half.

"By the way, I don't get my skills from that pocket watch you stole from me", Ed said, grinning. He had transmuted the grillplate on his automail to the insanely sharp blade. Cornello stumbled backwards and ran away.

"That's right you third-rate baldy! Just keep running!" Ed shouted before going after him.

Outside, a big, angry crowd had gathered to the plaza in front of the temple. When Cornello emerged from the depths of the temple, they instantly started throwing accusations and questions to the priest. Cornello was shocked for a moment, but then an idea struck his mind.

"Children, a nonbeliever has used his vile devilish science to impersonate me! Behold God's true power!" he shouted as he activated the stone. The six statues on the sides of the plaza started moving and headed for the temple.

"Tch. Would you just cut the crap already baldy?" Ed said, eyes burning with fury. "Heh, you know, we have one thing in common, we do hate doubters."

"You're forgetting something", Cornello said as he took the State Alchemist watch from his pocket. "You can only perform alchemy on your metal arm if you don't have this watch."

Ed grinned as he clapped his hands together. "You think so baldy?" he said as he slammed his hands to the ground. The energy headed inside and into the sun God's statue in the hall. It rose up on it's feet and came through the roof of the temple.

"This is the real hammer of God. So, come and get some!" Ed shouted as the statue of Leto put up it's right arm and thrust it towards Cornello. He yelled on the top of his lungs as the fist came down, hitting the ground just a few meters away from him. He stumbled backwards and fell to the ground into a sitting position.

Josh jumped from behind the stone arm and snatched the stone from Cornello. "I got it guys! Now w-", he started when the stone suddenly lit up. Josh yelped and dropped it. When it hit the ground, it caused a transmutation, which would've fused Josh with the stone, had he been touching it. There, on the ground, lay a mixed pile of stone and metal parts.

"A.. Fake..?" Josh whispered. He took the stone from the ground. It had lost it's shine, and it shattered. There was a confused look on Josh's face. Ed ran up to him and took the ring from him.

"How did the stone shatter?! It's supposed to be perfect!" Ed shouted. Josh looked at him. "Ed, it's a fake. That isn't the real stone. It's just an imitation", Josh explained.

"An.. Imitation?" Ed whispered as he turned to look at Cornello, who sprung to his feet and ran inside the temple.

* * *

"Hmmph, I guess we're back in the starting position again", Josh said and sighed. He was checking his automail, checking the insides of it. He had learned some of the basics from Winry so he could perform minor repairs if his or Ed's automail happened to malfunction. But, even with Winry's training, he still poked at the wrong places, causing the arm to nudge unwillingly. 

"Yeah, and I thought that we could get your bodies back", Ed said.

Josh shook his head. "No, not mine, you guys need your bodies the most. I..don't mind being like this. It's a small price to pay."

"No Josh, you need your limb back as much as I need my body and Ed his limbs. If we ever find the stone, we'll fix you too. Cound on it", Al protested.

"You should've never come here!" Rose shouted to them as she walked towards them.

Josh sighed. "Look, we just wanted the stone so we can make everything right again. This is our only chance Rose."

"But, Father Cornello was our savior. This town was dying! There was nothing here, and now, when he's gone.. It'll change to a desert town again", she exclaimed, "I don't have anything to live for anymore! What do I do now Ed? You tell me that! Or can you Josh?"

Josh put the grill plate back and stood up. Ed was already walking away with Al. "Decide for yourself Rose. Like I did. I decided that I won't be stopped by my loss. Even though the surgery was bad and painful, I didn't give up. I felt like I was going to die after it. But just look at me now, I feel better than what I felt back in my own world", Josh said, "After all, as Ed always says, you've got two perfect legs to stand on. Use them and move forward." After he had said that, he waved at her and ran after Ed and Al.

* * *

"What is this? The boys were right, that wasn't the real stone!" Cornello shouted at a short, fat and bald man and a beautiful woman. 

"Of course it wasn't, this town is a juicy bait for all those who seek the stone. And all their lives will belong to me", the woman said.

"Cursed souls! Who are you? I want answers!" Cornello demanded.

"Come on Lust, can I eat the old preacher?" the bald man said. The woman called Lust nodded. There was maniac laugh and voice that resembled the crunching of bones.

* * *

**A/N:** Oh, here we are again, one chapter complete. This is probably the longest chapter, because there's one and a half episode here. 


	3. Past Times

**A/N:** Aaah, the third chapter, finally. Sorry about the delay, I was just so busy that I could barely even stop and think. Oooh I don't know about this one, might not be the best I've wrote. I redid quite much of this chapter, I can't believe what mistakes I made in there. Sheesh, I should be ashamed of myself.

**----------------**

**Chapter 3: Past Times**

----------------

"I can't believe that the stone was a fake", Josh said, skimming through the books. Ed and Al were too going through the library books, searching for any clues about the Philosopher's Stone.

"Well, god just hates us. That's all", Ed said, putting a book on a shelf. Al gasped as he found some book.

"What is it Al? What did you find?" Ed asked and peeked over Al's arm. He raised his eyebrows in surprise. "Wow, I didn't know they had one of these here."

"Isn't it amazing brother? Josh, take a look at this, it's the first circle we used", Al said as he handed the book to him. Josh looked at the circle and that brought back memories. But he pushed them back.

"You know, I think I used this circle when I had my first try at alchemy", he mused, gazing at the ceiling with one hand under his chin.

After they felt they had scavenged through enough books for that day, they got back to their hotel, Ed and Josh fell to their beds, exhausted. It wasn't long until they were asleep. Al was in his hibernation state. Jumpstarted by the book, Josh started to dream about the day he met the Elrics and the Rockbells.

-----------------

**Flashback**

----------------

"Wait Winry, look!" Josh heard someone shout as he ran towards the house. He could make two people standing in the doorway and the smaller one was pointing at him.

"My god.. Granny, we have to help him!" he heard and the taller one hurried to him. He could see that it was a girl, about his age with long blonde hair and blue eyes. He collapsed just as she braced him against herself.

"Please.. help me. I.. I feel so lost", Josh whispered, clutching the girl. The other one at the door said something but he could only make out a name, Winry. Josh concluded that the girl supporting him was Winry.

"Don't worry, we'll help you. Just hang on", the girl soothed him. She led him upstairs and laid him onto a bed and quickly pulled a chair beside it and sat down. "Granny, go get a first-aid kit, fast!" she said and took a towel and pressed it against the stump. Josh hissed in pain.

"I'm sorry, but this is the only way to stop the bleeding, just hang on", she assured him. Josh gritted his teeth and breathed deep a few times.

"Well..then..where exactly..am I?" he asked. He felt lightheaded from the bloodloss, but he couldn't blackout yet. Not before he got some answers. And he got them.

"Why, you're in Resembool, Amestris. You don't know where that is? Hey, what's your name by the way? My name's Winry", she said with a cheerful voice, though there was confusion in it first.

Josh lifted his head from the pillow and looked at Winry. "I'm Josh..Josh Evans. I'm...nevermind that..", his voice died. He rested his head on the pillow again and closed his eyes.

"Don't worry, we'll get that shoulder patched up soon. You'll gonna be alright", Winry said, noting that the shoulder had stopped bleeding. She carefully removed the now thoroughly soaked towel and let it drop to the floor with a wet splat.

The elder woman took this moment to arrive in the room trailed by a big suit of armor carrying a boy in its arms. Winry started and just gawked at the armor mouth wide open.

"It's me Winry, Alphonse. I- we made a..mistake", the armor said, lowering its gaze to the floor. He put the boy on a bed on the other side of the room.

"Yes, you made a mistake all right! You fools tried to bring your mother back, even if you knew it was forbidden to even try!" the woman ranted as she handed Winry the firstaid kit, who opened it and took a roll of gauze from there and started to apply it on Josh.

"For heavens sake, it isn't just a coincidence that this poor boy just pops out of nowhere at the same time you two do something reckless!" she continued.

Josh decided to clear out why exactly he was there, but he didn't have a change when the door opened. Winry though, didn't stop putting the gauze on him.

"Well, that explains a lot. Human transmutation. But that reaction was quite furious, I've never seen anything like it", a man wearing a black rain coat said from the door. Under the raincoat was a blue military uniform. "Pardon me", he apologized, showing his pocket watch.

"A State Alchemist?" the armor gasped. The man nodded and took a letter from one of his coat pockets. "I'm here because of this letter", he said, putting it back in a pocket.

"Well, if you're looking for their father, he's not here. And I want you out of my house!" Pinako snapped.

"Hm, actually, I'm more interested in these boys now. If they tried human transmutation and lived to tell about it, they just went up on my priority list", he said, looking at Ed. "And, then there's this mysterious kid. If he appeared at the same time the transmutation took place, he must have some connection to that incident", he continued, looking at Josh, who looked back at his onyx eyes.

"I don't care! Now out of my house before I throw you out!" Pinako almost shouted in anger.

"I apologize, but this is quite important. I could get a warrant if you want, but I'm sure you prefer it this way", he said and then looked thoughtfully at Josh. Finally he frowned and pulled a check from inside his coat and wrote something on it. He handed in to the woman, who snatched it from his fingers and glared at it.

"Because you are Automail engineers and pretty well-known ones, here's a payment. It's for Automail. Consider this my part in this incident", Roy said looking at Josh again.

"I have.. a name too, you.. know", Josh said, "It's.. Josh." Winry had finished with the gauze roll at this time and had moved to the other boy in the room. She looked pretty sad to Josh.

Pinako looked even more furious. "I wouldn't take your filthy money, but as it is for the boy, I'll take it. And I expect you to handle his updates as well until he gets a decent job", Pinako snapped.

Mustang weighed his options. If he would be able to get these kids to the military, he would even benefit from the payment, and if he wouldn't get them, he'd just have to bear with it. "Fine. I'll pay for his updates as well", he said and left the room.

"Hey..Aunt Pinako? I..I have some money..in a closet at our house. Tell..tell Al to go and get it, will you?" the other boy said in a whisper. His voice was strained, he was probably in lots of pain.

"Well, I don't see what you can do with it Edward, but I'll tell him anyway", the woman named Pinako answered and left the room. Josh sighed silently and closed his eyes. He had to sleep, even if it wasn't wise in this situation.

----------------

In the morning, Ed was still sleeping, but Josh hadn't slept at all. He was wondering why that Mustang guy had given Aunt Pinako money for his Automail. He heard the door open and saw Winry walk in with a bowl of water and a wet cloth.

"Hey, you're up early", Winry said, but when she noticed the black rings under his eyes, she immediatedly got worried. "Have you slept at all?" she asked. Josh just shook his head and got up in a sitting position.

"I.. couldn't sleep. Every time I tried to, that damn Gate just appeared in front of my eyes. When it opened it's doors and shot those arms at me, I always woke up. I tried to sleep for five times but I gave up", Josh explained.

"So a nightmare, eh? If you want, we can postpone the operation to a later time if you wish", she said. Her eyes showed that she was clearly worried for him. But he didn't want to be weak. Being weak was something he never wanted to be.

"No, I'm fine. I'll go through the surgery today", he said. That didn't sound so convincing to his own ears, but it seemed that Winry bought it anyway.

"Okay, as you like, but..we really could do it tomorrow too, there's no hurry.." she sighed. Her eyes looked sad, almost empty again. Josh wondered this, but he couldn't conclude anything, considering he had known her for a mere 24 hours.

.---------------

Ed had gone through the surgery and he had looked pretty banged up, to Josh at least. And now he understood why he looked like that.

"YAHAHH, the HELL, don't you people have ANY anesthetics around here?!" Josh said through gritted teeth. Oh god it hurt, he didn't realize one could feel pain like this. But it still struck him as odd that these people in year _1921 _had nerve replacements, whereas on his side there wasn't even a material suitable for the job. His train of thought was brought to an abrupt end as Winry pulled at one of the nerves again.

"YAAHHHH!" he yelled. He grit his teeth and clenched his other hand in a fist so tight his knuckles were as white as snow.

"Well, to answer your question, we DO have anesthetics, but they're so expensive and rare that we can't afford them", Pinako said as she helped Winry attach the port for the Automail.

"Don't worry, I'm almost done! Just some final adjustments aaaand..done!" Winry said as she clamped the final nerve to the port.

"I'm..damn glad", Josh huffed. His shoulder ached like hell and he really couldn't move. But when his eyes gazed over at some rocks on a shelf his eyes widened.

"Ti..tanium?" he whispered under his breath. He had seen titanium only once in his life, and that was in school behind a glass and now six rocks of titanium ore sat on the shelf looking pretty. He HAD to take a closer look. But, something disturbed him here, he could see a echo of some circle in his mind's eye. He could also hear a man speaking. Was he going mad? No way, that couldn't be true. Pushing that thought aside, he decided to see for himself in the night, that were those stones really titanium ore.

------------------

And so, in the night, when everyone was sleeping, Josh got out of the bed and slowly tiptoed into the surgery room. His shoulder ached, he felt damn weak and he was tired. But still he had to see, he was just too curious and determined. When he reached the surgery room, he took one of the rocks from the shelf.

_'This has to be titanium, it has the same appearance at least', _he thought and again he saw an echo of the same circle he had seen earlier. This time, something clicked inside him and he grabbed a knife from a table and carved the ghost circle in the floor. He placed the rock in the center of it and took a final look at the circle. He was acting on pure instinct, he wasn't aware of what he was doing, he just _knew_ what to do.

'_Let's do this'_, he thought as he placed his hand on the circle. Much to his surprise, the circle lit up with blue light. He quickly stopped the reaction, because all he really needed to know was the composition of the material. But still he was confused by his knowledge in alchemy, because he hadn't even ever heard of something like that.

_'But I sure am going to put it into good use_', he decided as he put the rock away and touched the circle again. It lit up and faded away. He took the rock and put it back on the shelf and turned to go back to his room.

"Well, I see you're quite gifted in alchemy. I know when someone isn't telling everything, so spill it kiddo" Pinako said from the doorway. Josh stared at the woman with wide eyes for a moment, then regained his composure.

"I.. saw this gate. This huge gate, there were purple eyes inside it, they were laughing at me. Then, there were these black hands, which grabbed me and pulled me inside that gate. I guess.. that it placed all this information in my head. That's why I can do alchemy", Josh told.

Pinako nodded. "Why are you interested in those rocks over there?", she asked pointing to the rocks on the shelf.

Josh looked back at the rocks. "That rock is titanium, it's a metal. It's more tougher than steel, but it's much more lighter. I guess I..just was curious. But..hey, I think that there's enough titanium in that ore to make plates for the Automail, so would it be possible to use it for my Automail?" Josh asked, "I think I could be able to separate the titanium from the ore."

Pinako seemd to be considering something. "Okay, but you better be awake at six in the morning. I'll start working on your arm then. Oh, just for your information, that money he gave me was small, but as I don't need to buy steel, I'll let it pass. Besides, I can't let you go with a cheap piece of Automail. So, tell that Mustang to send a double check next time or I'll come and get it myself, okay", Pinako said. Josh nodded.

------------

"Wow, Granny, you've outdone yourself, this arm is so light, yet it seems to be so strong. What metal did you use?" Winry blabbered about the arm meant for Josh, who looked embarrassed, because it was partly his doing that the arm was light. Pinako just stayed silent and shot a glance at Josh. Winry took this as a clue and moved to harass him.

"Teeelll me Joshie, what did she do to that arm? Pretty please?" Winry pleaded as she stuck her face right in front Josh's, who now looked very embarrassed and he blushed.

"Eh.. well.." Josh stammered when Pinako saved him.

"Stop harassing the poor boy, I'll tell what I did to it when we're done attaching Ed's limbs", she said as she plugged the arm in to Josh's port. She took a tool and put it into a hole in the port. "Now, this might hurt a bit, but it'll be only temporary", she said and turned it 90 degrees left.

"YAHAH", Josh jumped at the pain. His face was twisted in pain and he grabbed his shoulder. It was burning, but he could feel that something inside the port was tingling. It was as if his nerves got a response from somewhere. Winry and Pinako moved him to the couch and he tried to move the arm. It wasn't a surprise, but the arm didn't move much, only a few centimeters.

"It might be a bit hard to use it first, because your nerves haven't adjusted yet, but with two years of training you'll be able to use it like your own arm", Winry explained and grabbed the arm in her hands. She examined it and knocked it. "Weird, the metal doesn't sound hollow and the suspension is standard..the cylinder's light but still durable..ah hell, Granny tell me what'd you do to this arm", Winry pleaded, this time looking at Pinako.

"I used titanium, or that's what Josh calls it. He says it's much more lighter and stronger than steel", Pinako answered.

"What, titanium? You mean that light and stronger than steel titanium? Or that..no, you can't mean that titanium what they use in railroads. It's way too heavy for this", Winry wondered.

"Yes, I mean that 'light and stronger than steel' titanium. Josh separated the metal from the ore. He has quite a gift in alchemy", Pinako said with her usual bluntness.

"You know alchemy?" Ed questioned as he lifted himself up with his flesh arm. Josh nodded and rose to his feet. He felt a pang of guilt as he saw that Ed could only move with one leg.

"Well, nice to know. I know some too. Maybe we can exchange learn something from each other", Ed said and smiled a bit. Josh returned the smile and looked at his automail arm.

_'I guess this is a small price to pay..for my life'_, he thought bitterly.

-----------------

"Well, there goes your last refuge then", Josh said, looking at the burning house. He was wearing a white t-shirt bearing the Flamel insignia and gray pants. A blue jacket hung on his left shoulder.

"There's no turning back now. Not after we did what we did", Ed answered, looking at his and his brothers home.

"Let's go, there's nothing for us here anymore", he continued, walking away.

"Yes there is, Winry's here, Aunt Pinako's here. You have a place to come back to", Josh pointed out. 'Though I don't..' he continued in his mind. It was true, he didn't have a place to come back to, because he didn't know anyone in Amestris, save for Ed, Al, Winry and Aunt Pinako and their dog Den.

"Why are you saying 'you'? It should be we, Josh, we", Ed said, patting him in the back. Josh smiled, as they walked towards the train station. Well, maybe he did have a place to come back to, as he reminded himself of everything those two had done for him.


	4. A Forger's Love

**A/N: **The fourth chapter, and I'm so stupid. So, so stupid. You'll find out why at the bottom, but please do read the chapter first.

--

Chapter 4: A Forger's Love

Josh, Ed and Al were on their to Central. They sat in silence, until Ed opened his mouth.

"Al, are you sure you're okay with this? You know, leaving it all behind?" Ed asked, looking at Al, who nodded.

"It's all right with me. Besides, it was me who insisted to come with you two", he replied.

Josh sighed. "Look, I can't even start to think about how I should repay you guys.. Heh, I guess I never will", he said, watching the scenery change fast.

"Josh, you don't have to repay us. It was me who asked you to come with me. I heard that Mustang guy talk about you. And.. Well, if you saw the Gate too and lost something, I know how you feel. You want to get back what you lost", Ed answered.

"Don't you feel bad about this? That we left without saying anything?" Josh inquired.

Ed snorted. "Good riddens, that's what I say! I'm going to become a State Alchemist when we get to Central."

"I might try it as well. 'Cause I get these weird flashes, like that time I checked the composition of that rock. That circle just came to my mind from somewhere. Honestly, I don't know anything about alchemy, but when I pressed my hand on the circle, another flash came by. It was some kind of text, it said that there's three steps in alchemy, analysis, deconstruction and reconstruction", Josh said and frowned, "Hell, I bet I saw the human transmutation circle in those flashes too. It was just before I came here. I think I saw you there too."

"Re-really?" Ed gasped, "I guess the Gate does something good too. It gave you the knowledge to do alchemy. Heh, I bet that you're going to pass it like it's nothing. But I can tell you, I ain't going easy on ya!" Ed joked. Josh and Al laughed.

"Surely you won't brother", Al managed to say, "Besides, Mustang will guide us through."

Ed snorted again. "Like I need his help! With my talent, it'll be a cake walk!" he bragged.

"Aren't you forgetting something? I'm still here you know", Josh chuckled. Ed grinned.

--

Back in Resembool:

"How could they leave without saying goodbye?! The only one who even said something was Josh. Well, he said it in a note.." Winry said, fists shaking. They were standing in front of the ashes of the brothers' home.

"Well, we can't do nothing about them anymore. They made their choice, and we just have to wait for them now", Pinako said, with a bit of bitterness in her voice.

--

"Oh crud what a long ride. My back is sore", Josh whined. They had finally arrived at a trainstation, and now were waiting for the train to Central.

"Don't whine, my back is as sore as yours. Our train doesn't leave until tomorrow morning, so at least we can get some shuteye", Ed said as he took a more relaxed position on the bench.

"My purse! Help me, he took my purse!" some woman shouted. Ed's eyes snapped open and he got up.

"Well, break's over", he said as Al quickly drew a tranmutation circle on the floor. The thief ran towards the three and stopped as he saw them standing in front of him.

"Ya wouldn't want ta hurt yerselves brats, so off to bed with ya", he said as he pulled out a gun.

Ed's face went dark and a stress mark appeared on his forehead. "I'm. Not. A BRAT!" he shouted as Al slammed his hands on the circle. Josh snickered. The thief was caught off guard when the circle lit up.

"Wh-what?" he stammered as he found himself trapped in a steel cage. His gun was lying on the floor, which Josh picked up. The thief was so shocked he almost fainted.

"Hehheh, never seen alchemy I guess? Well, too bad for you", Josh snickered as he held the gun.

"Nice work there. That trick you did, is that alchemy?" a police officer said as he walked up to them.

"Yeah, it's alchemy all right", Ed said and smiled. Josh was smiling too. '_To think that my world doesn't have something like this'_, he thought.

"I'm surprised to see that such young boys are such good alchemists. You must be natural talents in it", the officer said and smiled, "And to think, the only alchemist around here is Majhal. He lives in the next town."

"Majhal eh? What's he like then?" Ed asked, curious.

"He helps people a lot with his alchemy, he's a really good man from what I've heard", the officer replied.

"Maybe we should pay this Majhal a visit, or what do you say guys?" Josh suggested.

"Oh, you don't want to go there right now. There's been rumors of ghosts and people who should be dead wandering around. There are people disappearing too, mostly women and girls. It's a scary place right now", the officer warned.

"Naw, don't worry about us. We don't believe in such things as ghosts. But those people.. could it be?" Ed wondered. "Let's go.", he said and took off. Josh and Al followed suit.

--

They were heading towards the town where Majhal lived. They were all thinking about what the officer had said. Was it possible that Majhal could've succeeded in a human transmutation?

"It's not possible.. It just can't be", Josh thought outloud.

Ed shook his head. "I don't believe it either, but there's always a chance. And, his name kept popping out in all those letters. If I remember right, he wrote about human transmutation. If it's the same guy, it's worth paying him a visit."

A few kilometers later:

"Ouch.. Now my back is even more sore", Ed whined. Josh snickered and Ed glared at him.

"Look who's whining now", Josh said and looked to his right. "Hey, check this out!"

They rushed over to the edge of the road and stared at the carneval area. "Hmm, someones throwing a party and forgot to invite us!" Ed said triumphantly.

**KABLAM!**

"That went a little too clo-", a boy's voice said, though it sounded a bit girlish. "Hey, you aren't allowed to be here! This place is off limits. You could get yourself killed, we're testing the firew-", he was cut off by a very furious looking Ed.

"Yeah, WE NOTICED THAT!" he shouted and Al had to hold him back. Josh sighed, and slapped Ed in the head with his left hand.

"OW! WHAT WAS THAT FOR?!" he shouted even louder. Josh shrugged and looked at one of the kids, who was poking Al.

"What are you, some kind of giant robot from the future?" the kid said, poking Al. Ed stomped over to him and snapped the stick in half with his right hand. "Stop that."

"Show them how we welcome.. strangers", the girlish-boy said. His 'gang' ran towards the trio and Ed decided to charge, only to trip on a rock. Al followed suit and was about to trip as well, but he got hold of an pole on the side of the road. Unfortunately, it broke, and Al landed on Ed.

"What am I going to do with you two?" Josh muttered as he dodged the 'gangs' attacks. Then, with a swift swing of his left hand, he cut one stick in half and threw the boy holding the stick to the ground. Another one tried to attack him from behind, but he quickly spun around and blocked the stick his left arm, what caused the stick to break in half.

"Wh-what?" the boy was confused, and Josh used this as an advantage. He grabbed the boy by his shirt with his automail arm and threw him to the side. Now the only one left was the girlish-boy.

"What's going on in here?" a voice of a man said. He took the piece of the broken pole and put it back on the pole. Then put his right hand on the pole and purple light flashed.

"You must be Majhal", Ed said from under Al.

"Hm, you guys go visit him, I'll look around this place, 'k?" Josh said as he turned around. Ed looked confused. He was actually going alone? He decided that Josh needed some time of his own once in a while and dragged Al with him to Majhal's home.

--

With Josh:

_'If it's true that that Majhal guy has succeeded in human transmutation, we'd have a fair chance of __restoring our bodies. But I'd never go back to my own world anymore. Even if this place is technologically retarded, I can do alchemy here. It fascinates me, I just wish.. she would be here with me'_, he thought sadly. He felt that he was about to cry, and had to blink furiously not to.

Flashback:

"Josh, come on! We can't be late!" a girl few years older than Josh shouted ahead of him. He tried to run as fast as he could, but he wasn't a match for his sister. They were running down an alley, to their best friends house. At the end of the alley was a busy street, always full of cars, some speeding a lot.

"Come on Evelyn, you know I'm much slower than you!" he shouted back to his sister, who laughed and stopped. He caught up to her and went down on one knee, huffing. "Damn, what can I about it that I'm so slow?" he said between breaths.

"Come on, you've been learning martial arts from since the day we got into first grade! And still your condition is bad, I don't see a problem bro!" Evelyn said, ruffing his hair.

"You're older than me AND you're a sports freak. That's the problem" he huffed, getting up. Evelyn just grinned at him evilly and started running again.

"Try to catch me! If you do, you get ten dollars!" she shouted as she ran away from his brother.

"Evelyn, remember to be caref-" Josh started when he heard a tire screech and saw his sister fly backwards. "N-no.. EVELYN!" he yelled as he ran up to her, kneeling down beside her.

"I.. guess you got me there", she said in a weak voice.

"It's going to be okay sis, nothin' to worry about", he tried to comfort her, but as he saw her eyes close, he jumped up. "SOMEONE CALL AN AMBULANCE HERE!" he yelled. Someone took his cellphone and dialed 911.

Josh kneeled back beside her sister, who was breathing very shallow. "You can't die Evelyn, you can't.." he whispered. She opened her eyes slowly, and looked at him.

"You'll... survive Joshie... I... know..", her voice died as her eyes went blank and dim. Josh started crying, her sister was gone. She was gone forever. Now it was just him and his father. Just then an ambulance stopped in front of them and two paramedics rushed out.

End of flashback

He had sat on the side of the road without even noticing. Tears fell down his cheeks, but he wiped them off quickly and stood up. '_I won't get overwhelmed by my memories now. She told I would survive, hell, I survived all right. I survived two losses'_, he thought as he glanced at his left hand.

"Hey! Freckle boy! How can you fight so well?" the girlish-boy shouted, as he ran towards him.

_'Freckle.. boy?'_, he recalled the words. "WHO HAS SO MANY FRECKLES HE COULD DROWN IN THEM?" he yelled and shot a glare at the insulter. The boy looked taken aback, but quickly put his angry face on.

"I'm calling you a freckle face!" he shouted and grinned evilly, but as he saw that Josh started running towards him, ready to kill, he took off. "COME BACK HERE YOU GIRLY WUSS!" Josh yelled at him and stopped. He turned around and snapped his fingers in a slashing manner. What he didn't expect, that the second he snapped, sparks flew around.

"What the hell?" he asked himself, shocked. He looked at his fingers and poised them into a snap. Nothing happened, but then another flash flew by his vision. A man, poised his fingers to a snap, talking about something. "Think about a transmutation circle and focus on it. This is a method of free-hand alchemy, and it is quite handy in some situations, but, it is also very difficult to handle and if performed wrong, it might cause serious damage to the caster and the environment", the man said in the flash.

He poised his fingers into a snap again and focused on a transmutation circle he had used for the first time he ever tried alchemy. Blue sparks burst around his fingers. He startled, accidentally snapping his fingers. A long bolt of blue lightning zapped at the river, freezing it. He looked at the sight with big eyes. "Wow.. Now THAT'S something else", he whispered.

"Eh, what're they doing there?" he thought outloud when he saw that girl-boy lying on the ice and Ed and Al standing on top of the riverbank, confused. "Hey guys! What're you doing here?" he shouted at them. He decided to keep his discovery a secret.

"Hey Joshie! We're.. just here", Ed shouted back, helping the girly-boy get up to the bank. Josh was about to follow when he saw someone move in the woods. _'What was that?_' he thought and decided to investigate. He waved at them and pointed into the woods. They understood and waved back.

--

Josh walked closer to the forest and looked around him. _'It came from around here, but I don't see anything'_, he thought as he examined the surroundings. Then he caught a glimpse of someone disappear behind the trees._ 'There's my target, I wonder what he's doing here. Well, taking a picnic I presume_', he joked to himself. He followed the man, or woman, he didn't know which one it was. But after a brief moment he lost sight of his target. He looked around, looking for a clue.

"Hmm, if you're looking for me, I'm right here", a womans voice said. Josh jumped around in a fighting stance.

"How.. how'd you lose me?" he managed to ask from his pounding heart. The woman chuckled and examined him. Josh had light brown hair which covered his ears and almost covered his right eye. His green eyes were a very distinctive feature in the boy. His face looked impassive, but his eyes showed fear. He was most certainly taller than that other boy in the red trench coat. The only minus feature in his face was his freckles, he had lots of them. He was wearing gloves, but the weird thing was that in his right hand was a fingerless glove. The glove in his left hand wasn't cut in any place.

"What are you looking at?" Josh snapped. He thought that the woman was.. pretty, to say. But that tattoo on her chest made him worry. He was sure that he had seen that tattoo inside the gate. And no flashes to tell him that he was right. It was useless, not a single idea came to his mind.

"Nothing, just thinking", the woman said walked off. _'What was that about? Who is she?' _Josh thought as he walked away from the woods. He he got on to the road, he saw the Elric's traveling to the cemetary. Josh ran after them, and quickly caught up with them._ 'See sis? I've improved, I bet I could beat you..' _he thought bitterly.

"Hey there, did you find anything in the woods?" Ed asked. Josh considered for a moment, 'Could I tell him? No, it's better they don't know.'

"No, nothing at all. I guess it was just a fox or something", he replied. Ed paled a bit. _'He's scared __of foxes? Maybe a trauma or something'_, he thought, though he couldn't suppress the thought of Ed confronting one.

Still, he couldn't stop think about this Majhal guy. If he was able to conduct a human transmutation, how did it happen? He didn't know much about how the body would be constructed, but he knew one thing for sure. You can't make the person appear like the person you want without DNA. Sure, you could make the person look whatever you want, but without DNA the body can't gain it's properties. Did they even know about that very, very important part in your body at this time? Neeh, he didn't want to start thinking about it.

His train of thoughts was abrutly stopped as he heard Ed and Al scream. He stopped in the last second to avoid falling to the hole in the ground. "You okay down there?" he asked.

"Oh, just peachy", came Ed's sarcastic reply.

"I think we got it!" that same, annoying, girly voice said. Josh's face went dark. If that wuss would say one word about his freckles, he would see to it that that boy would be smashed into a way much smaller hole than this one.

"Oh, false alarm!" the boy shouted when he saw Josh and his irritated look.

"L-look!" one of the boys shouted and pointed towards the woods on the side of the cemetary. Josh snapped his head in the direction and his eyes went wide. It was real, Majhal had created a human through transmutation. Now the only thing they had to do was get Majhal to restore Al's body, so that they could concentrate on getting back their missing limbs.

"Stand back!" Majhal shouted and blocked the girly-boy from getting too close to the woman. He activated his circle and the fire in his lantern headed towards the woman. Josh watched with horror as Majhal's creation burned out. It emitted a screeching voice, and Josh recalled that human flesh didn't make such a noise.

"That noise, I've heard it before. While we we're at Majhal's", Ed said once he got out of the hole.

--

"Are you certain you heard the same noise here?" Al asked, looking around. Josh looked rather bored.

"Maahm, it's getting late, maybe w-", he stopped as he saw a woman looking at them.

"Majhal really doesn't like when people sniff around his house", she said. Ed didn't stop knocking on the wall and finally pushed it. The wall swung out of the way, revealing a room with a transmutation circle on the floor. On the walls, there were mannequins, which had the same face as the 'ghost' back at the cemetary.

"Damn, and I thought that it was human transmutation", Josh muttered, "But it's just soul attaching."

"More like soul transferring", Ed said. He had heard Josh's muttering.

"Brother!" Al shouted. Ed snapped his head towards the door and saw Majhal there. Al was nowhere to be found.

"What did you do to him?!" Ed growled and lunged at the man. Majhal quickly raised his hand and activated the circle. Wooden ropes attached themselves to Ed and pulled him to the floor. Josh leaped at Majhal and punched him in the stomach with his left fist. Majhal grunted and fell on his back. Josh quickly drew a circle and slammed his hand on it. The circle lit up and same wooden ropes covered Majhal. He kneeled beside the man and hit him square in the face, not too hard though, only that the man would fall unconscious.

"Are you ok?" Josh asked as he released Ed from the ropes. He just mumbled something that Josh couldn't catch as a reply and went to the corridor to search for Al. Josh looked at the dolls and started thinking. If it was soul transferring, where did he get the souls to do it? But didn't that police officer say something about people disappearing too? _'Mostly women and girls'_, he recalled.

"That's it... YOU SICK BASTARD!" Josh shouted and hit the floor with his left fist. The impact left a crack in the floor.

"So, what's your role in this then? Huh?" Ed's voice said from the corridor. Josh got up and went to see what he was talking about.

"I... I'm just.. a neighbor", the woman said. A blue petal fell from under the cloak. "W-wait... That's a petal of a blue rose!" Ed said, eyes wide, "You're Karin! But you were supposed to be dead!"

--

Majhal opened his eyes very slowly. He had a terrible headache, and his nose felt out of place. He moved his hand to touch his nose. Then he noticed that Ed, Josh and Al were watching him, along with Karin.

"What is this? Why didn't you stop them?" he shouted and got up. Ed felt his anger rise it's head once more.

"You idiot! You thought that Karin was dead! Well, news for you, she's not dead!" he growled and pulled off Karin's cloak. Majhal was surprised. He looked at the woman, who claimed to be Karin. She even had a blue rose in her hair.

"NO! My Karin is a display of incomparable beauty! That woman could never be her!" he shouted as he grabbed a knife from a table. He activated the circle on his wristband and the knife turned into a sword. He ran towards Karin and tried to stab her, but Al got in the way.

"You fool! Don't get in my way!" Majhal yelled and tried to get past Al. _'I don't care anymore if they find out'_, Josh thought and poised his fingers to a snap. He thought of the first transmutation circle what came to his mind and snapped. Blue lightning covered the back of the room, and in a blink of an eye the air exploded, sending everyone flying towards the door. They all heard a gurgling noise and as Josh raised his head, he saw Majhal impaled by his own sword. Then he looked at the back of the room and saw the air frozen still.

--

The next morning, the trio waited for the cart to take them back to the trainstation. They didn't speak, they didn't even have to speak. Finally the cart arrived, and as they were boarding, they saw a girl run up to them.

"Hey, I just wanted to say thank you.. you really are terrific alchemists!" she said. Ed, Josh and Al just looked at her.

"Eh, yeah, we are. But who are you?" Ed finally said. Josh looked at her and finally recognized her.

"Call me crazy, but I think that that's the girly-boy", he said. Ed and Al also recognized her now.

"Clause!" they shouted. Clause's face flushed with anger. "Will you boys grow.. up?!" she shouted back.

"You definately look prettier when you don't dress up as a paper boy", Ed said as the three boarded the cart. Clause smiled and waved at them. They waved in return.

--

**A/N: **You know what, I had this chapter just lying around on my computer and I just now recognized it. Can you believe it? Well, I guess you can. This hasn't been edited much, so I don't know if everything flows smoothly in the story but you can always point that out with a review, right? Right...?


End file.
